Mailing in Bills with Stamp or Using Online Billpay?

[cotejb]

I currently still mail my payments in. I would like to start paying bills online not only to save a stamp but it would be more convenient I think. I'm scared I will forget to pay because I currently have a system where the bill does not leave my purse until its paid. Can anyone who currently pays their bills online tell me what their method is, which method you like more, etc?

[bbyboo1323]

I have a calendar I carry in my bag as well as one that hangs on the inside of my pantry door. each time a bill comes in, i write the company on the date that its due.

For example my Verizon bill is due july 10th, i write verizon on the calendar on july 10. i also use quicken but im still learning it but theres a way for you to be reminded of any bills due

[zingerhil]

I have a calendar I keep on the fridge and just record my bills on their due dates as they come in.

[biomajor]

I keep all the bills as they come in in the IN part of a sorter thing and then when I pay it, I write the authorization numbers and the date on them and move it to the OUT. I also check all the bills every month online just to make sure something wasn't missed. As an added, just to make sure thing, I write all the information down in a book LOL

He gets paid every 2 weeks, I get paid once a month, but not during the summer, so I schedule everything for the every 2 weeks paydays and use my check for essentials for the months like groceries, etc. In the summer, we go back to eating like we did when we first got married with lots of tuna casserole and hamburger helper and hot dogs and mac n cheese.

[cotejb]

So do you feel like you have to put more effort into using online billpay than mailing in a payment?

[zingerhil]

So do you feel like you have to put more effort into using online billpay than mailing in a payment?

I find it so much easier to use online bill pay and wish I could pay all my bills online.

[Xfeg]

As soon as i receive a bill I schedule it to be paid. if i dont do it then i either dont open it and put it in unopened mail or put it on top of my keyboard.

[biomajor]

So do you feel like you have to put more effort into using online billpay than mailing in a payment?

not a bit, plus I know it's done and not going to be lost in the mail. It's actually easier than writing a check and then taking the bills to the post office. Our mail carrier won't pick up from our boxes anymore. I don't know why.

[kranky]

Whatever bills come in the mail, I schedule for online bill pay. That way I don't have to remember anything.

[cotejb]

So you schedule it to paid on such and such date or its paid the day you go online? I guess I'm asking b/c I somewhat float my bills. I will go ahead and write the check but wait to mail it until I know I have money in the account.

[txmomma]

We pay our bills online too. DH is usually the one that does the bill pay though, but I am pretty sure you can schedule the payment for a specific date.

[biomajor]

So you schedule it to paid on such and such date or its paid the day you go online? I guess I'm asking b/c I somewhat float my bills. I will go ahead and write the check but wait to mail it until I know I have money in the account.

that depends on the company you are paying and the way they have it set up. For instance, my water company, I can set the date, but my electric company will come out on either that day or the next depending on what time I do it.

[figarotigger]

This is long, but some of the answers could result in a late payment depending on how you billpay.
There are 2 ways to billpay online. One is to go to each website and pay the creditor directly-go to cell phone, to credit card website, etc and pay. This usually credits the bill as of the day that you pay, some websites let you pick a future date but not all.
My gas, electric companies do not allow this option on their webpages but state to pay in person, send through the mail, or set up an automatic withdrawl on the same day each month from your checking account. What I can do and is not mentioned on these utility company websites is to send payment through my bank using the bank's billpay.

You add each creditors info on your bank's website and pick a day to pay. Most of the bank websites warn you about how many days it will take for the creditor to receive your payment-for example, my electric bill can take 2-5 days to be received by the electric company according to the bank. If you pay this way, you need to be certain to pay before the due date. In other words if the bill is due July 7, the day after a holiday weekend, I need to set the billpay to send the payment by the 2nd to avoid possibly having a late payment. This is the way I pay all except the cellphone bill. I set up my payments to be sent 1 week before they are due so nothing will be late, and usually do this once a week-just put the bills under my keyboard during the week and set up the payments for the bills received that week to be paid 1 week before the due date. I write the reference# and the date set up,as well as the date it is scheduled to be paid on each bill and file them for a few months. My bank's website lets me look at a list of what I have set up and change the dates up until the day before they are to be sent, if I have an unforseen financial problem, I could sign on and cancel or change the date on payments set up for future dates. This way too, you can still send a check if you need a few more days...

The first month takes more time, because you need to set up the accounts, but after that it is easy. If you have more questions ask....

[kranky]

So you schedule it to paid on such and such date or its paid the day you go online? I guess I'm asking b/c I somewhat float my bills. I will go ahead and write the check but wait to mail it until I know I have money in the account.

Depends on how your online banking works.

If I pay through my bank, they will tell me how long it will take for the payment to reach the vendor, and when I schedule a payment, I choose the date that I want the payment to get there (not the date that I want them to send it). If my bill is due on July 16, I will schedule it to reach the phone company on July 15. As long as I choose a date that is one day BEFORE the due date, my bank will guarantee it gets there on time. I don't have to worry about how long it takes to arrive. But that's the way my bank's system works.

Some banks make you choose the date you want the payment sent, so you have to factor in how long it will take to arrive. But most larger banks make the payments electronically, so they are very reliable.

So that's one way to do it - pay through your bank. Another way is to pay at the vendor's site and authorize them to collect payment from your checking account or bill your credit card.

One thing I would NOT do is authorize a vendor to do automatic payments for your entire balance. I don't like automatic payments because I want to personally authorize all payments. My co-worker had a bad experience a couple years ago when she had the gas company do automatic withdrawals for the monthly balance, and a billing error made her gas bill $800 instead of $100. It caused her to overdraw her checking account and bounce checks - and pay a bunch of fees.

[curtisekarr]

I currently still mail my payments in. I would like to start paying bills online not only to save a stamp but it would be more convenient I think. I'm scared I will forget to pay because I currently have a system where the bill does not leave my purse until its paid. Can anyone who currently pays their bills online tell me what their method is, which method you like more, etc?
I'd suggest using Automatic Billpay directly from the Electric or Water company to pay your bills. I know someone previously mentioned that they could make an error, but I think that's rare. I have most of my bills paid this way (electric, gas, water, sewage, home phone), and it literally requires nothing more than ensuring I have money in the bank. Some others I have the company's themselves charge directly to a credit card (cell phone, cable+internet). This is even better cause I receive credit card rewards, plus get an additional month before I have to pay the bill. I'd do that with the other bils but they charge an additional fee for credit card use.

As for your concern that you will forget to pay, you can continue to use your current method of leaving the bill in your purse until the payment has been scheduled. Bottom line, why not try it with one or two bills for a couple of months and if you like it, continue; if not then just go back to your current method?

[kselzer]

I pretty much know the bills that are coming in each month - occassionally there is a once a year or one-time bill too. So I use an Excel spreadsheet and put the dates I get paid. Then to each pay date I assign bills. That way when I get paid I pay the bills that day and pay almost everything online via billpay or the creditor's website.

So for example if I get paid on the 20th and my next pay date is not until the 5th (for example). I will pay all bills that are due between this time period on the 20th as soon as I get paid. I find this really helps when budgeting things. I plan ahead a bit to, so if I have a big expense somewhere I can even things out.

[Scott]

I currently still mail my payments in. I would like to start paying bills online not only to save a stamp but it would be more convenient I think. I'm scared I will forget to pay because I currently have a system where the bill does not leave my purse until its paid. Can anyone who currently pays their bills online tell me what their method is, which method you like more, etc?

There is no reason that you can't use your same system to pay online. I have an in basket for bills. They stay there until I pay them. I use my banks online bill pay to take care of them. I can pay them all from a single screen.

Once they are paid, I just write paid across the bill really big and file it away. You could do the same with your purse. Once you get used to the online bill paying system, you may feel comfortable setting up automated payments. But you don't have to jump right in to that.

I definately like online bill paying later... I just checked my checkbook and I have written 2 checks in the past year... :)

[mudechevy]

I only pay my bills once a month. When they come in, they go in the bill box. I sit down with my stack each month. Luckily mine are coming in and due on dates that I can pay them all at once on around the 20th of each month. Some are early but it's easier than remembering what has to go out and when. Of course, you could do this each week instead of each month. I wouldn't trade online bill pay for the world.

[chrisjuvers]

I use checkfree and it's an online billing system that's free. It sends you an email when the bill comes in to notify you of a new bill. You can set up to pay the bills on the due date and the money does not get taken out until then. You can also make automatic payments. Example: you cannot pay 'The Gap' payments in the store, the only accept mail in payments or check by phone with a charge. However, you can pay then every week for free if you want with checkfree. Checkfree also notifies you if your trying to pay your bill and it falls on a weekend. Checkfree also has my local utilities in the system. It's works for us and we've been using it for about 5 years. You have your bills emailed to checkfree and it also saves a few trees in the process. A few times I have jumped out of bed at 11 pm and said "oh goodnees, I need to pay something" and paid it online when the store is closed. Ahh, it's wonderful!

[ryejay98]

With the exception of rent, I've paid all my bills online for over 5 yrs now. Never had a late payment, stolen identity, etc, etc.

Most places will allow you to either schedule a reoccuring payment or a manual payment. Like others, I like to review the bill before I pay it, so I do manual payment for 99% of my bills.

I'm real anal about money, so I have everything set up in Quicken, which I check/balance once a day... so I never worry about missing a payment.

Maybe start slowly - pay just one of your bills online for a while, until you become comfortable with the system.

[Kayakmom]

I pay anything online that I can and I love it. I pay my bills twice a month - once for the mortgage and once for all the rest of the bills. It takes me about 10 minutes to pay all of my bills online. I've got it down to a science, lol. Car insurance, homeowner's insurance, and student loan are directly taken out of our account. I hate the sewer and car taxes because they're not as simple. The only checks I really write are for town taxes, kid activities, and kid lunches. Bill paying used to be so complicated for me (I hate to mail things!) but now it's so easy!

[amykay9377]

I'd suggest using Automatic Billpay directly from the Electric or Water company to pay your bills. I know someone previously mentioned that they could make an error, but I think that's rare. I have most of my bills paid this way (electric, gas, water, sewage, home phone), and it literally requires nothing more than ensuring I have money in the bank. Some others I have the company's themselves charge directly to a credit card (cell phone, cable+internet). This is even better cause I receive credit card rewards, plus get an additional month before I have to pay the bill. I'd do that with the other bils but they charge an additional fee for credit card use.

As for your concern that you will forget to pay, you can continue to use your current method of leaving the bill in your purse until the payment has been scheduled. Bottom line, why not try it with one or two bills for a couple of months and if you like it, continue; if not then just go back to your current method?

I am very anal about money to, as one OP said. I keep an entry on my Outlook calendar called "BUdget" and I plan out three to four months of weekly budgets by Payday:

November 21
$ Me (meaning I get paid)
$$ Hubby (meaning he gets paid)
- $$ Electric Bill
- $$ Credit Card
- $$ PHone Bill
etc, etc....

This way I know at any given moment how much I will be getting (in general) IN that week, and how much is going out, bill-wise (I don't add in groceries, etc). Then on the day before, I go to each companies website and schedule a payment. Since you are usually given the leeway of cancelling until such-n-such a time on their website, the payment isn't actually deducted from your checking account (or credit card) until the following day--Payday! And since I get direct deposit, the $$ is there by the start of business day.

I haven't ventured into using BillPay from my bank because i don't want the hassles. Log on,pay, print your confirmation number, log off, sit back and relax!

Speaking of confirmation numbers, that is one of the main reasons I love paying for things OL. If there is an accounting issue, you can call the Electric Co and tell them that I paid my bill on line, here is my conf. number rather than 'gee, I think I mailed it Monday...'. And conversely, you can also use that conf. number in case THEY mess something up and slam you with a late fee! Been there, done that!

Like OP stated, start with something small that won't totally kill you if it goes astray, to pay online. I wouldn't start with your mortgage, per se, but maybe your cable bill or cell bill?

Trust me, once you start you will never go back! :D

[bugsette]

I pay a view on the phone and 2 bills I go directly to the bank and then send in 2 by mail.

[dancglady]

I started with one bill at a time to get use to it (mainly it was as the comanies started offering bill pay online). I keep a "budget" on my desktop under the notpad to keep track of scheduled bills and outstanding bills. I am also the only one to pay bills so we don't get confused.

[theboyzmom]

I love paying online! I wish all my bills were able to be done this way....of course, all of us paying online is one of the reasons stamps keep going up...the less we use, the more it costs...

ugh

still, I like knowing the bill is paid, not lost in the mail...plus, with a lot of credit companies switching the due dates, it's nice to pay it and not worry about lost days for mailing

[barbab]

My husband and I use Bill Pay thru bank. Most don't cost anything if you have an account set up.We always do our budget 2 days before payday. We always know exactly when the money comes out of our account. Very easy and we don't have to worry about bills getting stolen out of our mailbox or lost in the mail like in the past. Would not do it any other way. Very convenient.

[herculesmomma]

I use an excel spreadsheet as my check register. It allows me to put in all my paychecks as well as my repeating payments (like mortgage, car payments, etc) that I know will be the same every month. I do this for the entire year.

Then as bills come in, I don't necessarily pay them right away, but I enter them into my excel spreadsheet and leave the status on them blank. Then once a week I hop online and schedule bills to be paid. I then mark an "s" in a given field to let me know they are scheduled to be paid. Once they've cleared my account, their status changes to "x".

It also allows me to categorize all my payments so at the end of the year I can see what I've spent my money on and do charts, etc.

It sounds like an elaborate system, but it's really not. It makes it much easier to keep track of the bills and then see what needs to be paid and what my balance will be at all times. I no longer have to reconcile a check book because I'm always in balance since the spreadsheet allows you to easily move items around in case something clears a little earlier then another scheduled payment, etc.

[hwunch]

Whatever bills come in the mail, I schedule for online bill pay. That way I don't have to remember anything.+1

[mychza]

I get paid on the 1st and 15th of every month, so on the 1st I pay the bills due the first half of the month, and on the 15th I pay the bills due the second half of the month. On the first I also write out my budget for the month so I know exactly how much I have and put it all into different places; savings, bills, cash for food. Since my budget includes a list of all the bills I owe every month, I just go down the list and I don't forget anything.

[JohnnyLaRue]

Pay most of my bills online (electric, DirecTv, internet, cell phone..etc) I make sure to print out the confirmation page to cover my ass in case they say they never got the payment.